Messages - atmavichar100

If we are demoralized, sad and only complain, we’ll not solve our problems. If we only pray for a solution, we’ll not solve our problems. We need to face them, to deal with them without violence, but with confidence - and never give up. If you adopt a non-violent approach, but are also hesitant within, you’ll not succeed. You have to have confidence and keep up your efforts - in other words, never give up. ~ Dalai Lama

Cast all claims, aspirations, desires to serve humanity and schemes to reform the world upon the Universal Power which sustains this universe. He is not a fool. He will do what is required. Lose the sense, 'I am doing this.' Get rid of egoism. ...

Have compassionate love for others but keep it secret; do not make a display of it or talk a out it. If your desires are fulfilled, do not be elated, and if you are frustrated, do not be disappointed. The elation may be deceptive; it should bechecked, for initial joy may end in final grief. After all, what­ever happens YOU remain unaffected, just as you are.

Q: But how can I help another with his problems?M: What is this talk of another? — there is only the One. Try to realize there is no 'I', no you, no he, only the ONE SELF which is all.If you believe in the problem of another, you are believing in something outside the Self. You will help him best by realizing the oneness of everything, rather than by outward activity.Conscious Immortality

As the Sun of Sri Adi Shankaracharya rose, the gloom and darkness off ill-informed interpretations of the Vedas were totally destroyed. It s our duty to study Sri Adi Shankaracharya's works and understand the essence of His exposition on the Upanishadic philosophy of Advaita. - Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamigal

Ramana Maharshi: Srimad Bhagavad Gita says that a Jnani is the true yogi and also a true bhakta. Yoga is only a sadhana and jnana is the siddhi.Devotee: Is yoga necessary?Ramana Maharshi: It is a sadhana. It will not be necessary after jnana is attained. All the sadhanas are called yogas, e.g., Karma yoga; Bhakti yoga; Jnana yoga; Ashtanga yoga. What is yoga? Yoga means `union'. Yoga is possible only when there is `viyoga' (separation). The person is now under the delusion of viyoga. This delusion must be removed. The method of removing it is called yoga.

Devotee: Which method is the best?

Ramana Maharshi: It depends upon the temperament of the individual. Every person is born with the samskaras of past lives. One of the methods will be found easy for one person and another method for another. There is no definiteness about it.

Today Sun 17 Nov 2013 is the auspicious day of Guru Nanak Jyanthi . Guru Nanak Devji was a symbol of love, tolerance and compassion. His divine message of devotion to God, excellence of conduct and tolerance has timeless relevance for the mankind .My recent visit ( in Oct 2013)to Golden Temple in Amritsar ,Punjab and other Sacred Sikh Shrines around Amritsar was really a spiritually inspiring one and I was able to get a direct experience of what Guru Nanak and Other Sikh Gurus stood for and I am still immersed in that bliss .For those interested in understanding GuruNanak's true message kindly read Osho's book "The True Name -Talks of the Japuji Sahib of Guru Nanak" .Spoken with authority, clarity, sharpness and humor, Osho’s insights into the JapuJi of Guru Nanak address both the timeless and timely concerns that tend to escape our notice in the clamor and overload of daily life. Osho's commentary is considered to be the best of all, even in the Sikh community.

TEMPLE WORSHIP"One of our duties as human beings is to avail ourselves of every opportunity to do good to others. The poor can serve others by their physical labor and the rich by their wealth. Those of you who are influential can use your influence to better the condition of others. That way, we can keep alive in our hearts the sense of social service.

India is a poor country; but it is the poor that joined together in ancient times and built the grand temples and towers which we find today in every town and village of South India. The economy of those days was different from what it is now. People's wants were few and the surplus produce of the land was utilized to hire labor to build these great structures of public utility and spiritual admiration.In the present day, social service is viewed in a different manner. Schools and hospitals are built and banks organized on a community basis with the object of eradicating ignorance, diseases and poverty. But it is evident that these forms of social service have not been an unmixed blessing. Education has not eradicated falsehood and corruption. On the other hand, unsophisticated tribal people, whom modern education has not reached, are found to be more honest than the so-called educated people. Confidence of obtaining cure in hospitals has made people lead reckless lives. All the banks that have come into existence have not succeeded in eradicating poverty among the masses.In our modern mode of life, we have multiplied our wants. This will lead only to perpetual discontent. A life of extreme simplicity alone can bring contentment and happiness to the people. In this country, there are, what may be called, community temples. For instance at Avadayarkoil, it is the custom to offer large quantities of cooked rice to the presiding deity and this rice is made available to all at a nominal cost. In many temples the sense of community life is fostered by devoting special days and occasions for it. Consecrated food is made available through them to all those in need.

Gratitude for help received is a cardinal virtue. The taxes that you pay to the Corporation of Madras and to the Government are your expression of gratitude for the services rendered by those agencies. There are super-human agencies which confer benefits on us. We must express our gratitude to those agencies in the manner prescribed in the Vedas. This expression of gratitude is known as yagna. Though schools, hospitals and banks and such other social service organizations may be necessary in the context ofour present times, these institutions cannot serve their respective purposes in the absence of devotion. The one cure for all human ills is the power to endure them with faith in God’s grace. Bhakti alone can give that power of endurance. Temples are the agencies for the cultivation of bhakti. Hence the obligation to build temples in every place.

What is the significance of making offerings to the idols installed in temples? This is done as an expression of gratitude to the Power that created all things. Man by himself cannot create even a blade of grass. We will be guilty of gross ingratitude if we do not offer first to God, what we eat or wear. Only the best and the choicest should be offered to God. It is not everyone that can do pooja at home and make these offerings to God. It is here that temples come into the picture. Offerings are made to God in the temples on behalf of the entire community.

It is not even necessary that every one should worship inside the temples every day. Gopura darsanam will itself elevate our minds and make us remember the source from which we derive all the earthly benefits. At the same time, it is necessary for the community to see that worship at the temples is conducted properly. We should make it a point to see the temple tower every day and thereby concentrate a while in the contemplation of God. At least once a week we should go round the temple, reciting naamaas (God’s names) and doing bhajan. If we do so, we will derive real and lasting benefit."-Mahaperiyava Chandrasekharendra Saraswati

Sage of KanchiThe Daksinamurthi who remains still is the one who dances the dance of bliss, who destroys the demon Tripura and who keeps roaming as a mendicant. After granting boons to his devotees he goes from place to place. He is still inwardly but is in a frenzy outwardly. If we manage to still ourselves inwardly we will be able to do so much outwardly.

Don't worry about methods. If you are sincere and honest, and have a true desire for freedom, even wrong methods will take you there. Therefore, give rise to the desire 100 percent, and the rest will take care of itself. What you are doing is not important, the end is important. You can do anything you like. The end must be that "I have to be free." You must be sincere, serious, and honest. Then don't worry about the methods. This inside Self is consciousness itself. If you do not know the correct method, it will lead you. Where you are arriving, it already knows who is coming, and it will go out to receive you in the proper way for you. You must be honest and never mind proper method.

My life with Bhagavan taught me the value of faith, obedience and surrender. When I obeyed Bhagavan’s words, or had complete faith that he would look after all my spiritual and physical needs, everything went well. When I tried to mold my own destiny (such as the time I went to live in the cave and the time I ran away to Polur) things went badly. Life’s lessons have thus taught me the value and the necessity of complete surrender. If one surrenders completely to Bhagavan; if one lives by his words, ignoring all others; if one has enough faith in Bhagavan to stop making plans about the future; if one can banish all doubts and worries by having faith in Bhagavan’s omnipotence – then, and only then, Bhagavan will bend and mold one’s circumstances, transforming them in such a way that one’s spiritual and physical needs are always satisfied.

1)What about Lord Muruga's Marriage with Valli ? Was it after marrying Deivayani ?2) Today is Soor Samharam and it took place in Tirchendur and most TV Channels are telecasting it live today at 4.30 p.m the event at Tirchendur .

You are now listening to me; you are not making an effort to pay attention, you are just listening; and if there is truth in what you hear, you will find a remarkable change taking place in you -- a change that is not premeditated or wished for, a transformation, a complete revolution in which the truth alone is master and not the creations of your mind. And if I may suggest it, you should listen in that way to everything -- not only to what I am saying, but also to what other people are saying, to the birds, to the whistle of a locomotive, to the noise of the bus going by. You will find that the more you listen to everything, the greater is the silence, and that silence is then not broken by noise. It is only when you are resisting something, when you are putting up a barrier between yourself and that to which you do not want to listen -- it is only then that there is a struggle.